15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA - Lowland Scotch Whisky Bar
Stone Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

500ml bottle into snifter.

A: Pours black with a finger of very dense dark brown head that faded into a thick and well retained head that lasted the whole beer through. Sheets of fuzzy lace was left down the glass.
S: The nose is full of chocolate, roasted coffee, a touch of soy sauce oxidization, caramel, and warming whiskey. The hops, as expected, are completely faded, and this smells like a rich imperial stout.
T: No longer a black ipa, this has moved completely into stout territory. Rich chocolate fudge, spicy whiskey barrel, vanilla, mellow earthy hops, and cinnamon. The finish has light notes of soy sauce, and the aftertaste is full of caramel, leather, mild tobacco, and spicy and mellow scotch. Bitter dark chocolate lingers long after the swallow, alongside a hint of char and earthy peat.
M: Thick body, viscous and chewy, with very soft and full carbonation.
O: I remember the original being much more of a hoppy stout than a black ipa, and throwing it in barrel has solidified it deep into barrel aged imperial stout territory. Pretty good as a beer regardless, but not the best. Not the most complex.

 

Shared with Kyle at the dive, bar.

A - Poured into a tulip a nice dark black hue with a thin half finger mocha head that fades to leave thin lacing and light sudsy blanket. For the ABV it's pretty impressive.

S - Aromas are plum dreadful earth, onion, slightly rotten fruit, no scotch, no peat, no smoke...what is this garbage.

T - Taste is an improvement from the nose. Not by much though. Faint chocolate and sweet malts, super light bitter finish. Tired, old barrel notes. No real scotch whisky on this, lack of smoke and peat, weird fruity note. It's not infected, just weird off fruit notes. Woody (but not the good vanilla kind), like chewing on a number 2 pencil. Just, not good at all.

M - Mouthfeel isn't bad for the ABV, hidden nicely, lowly carbonated though, bit syrupy.

O - Overall I'm kind of pissed with how much of a disappointment this beer is. I was expecting a black ipa, hell, I would have takenas glass of scotch, but instead I get this mess.

 

Another obscure tick from Chris (spycow). Served in a tulip.

A - Tan foam settles to a thin cap, thick collar, and splotches of lace. Dark brown body.

S - A nice mix of caramel and chocolate malt flavors, light smoke, vanilla, light oak, and fairly restrained whisky. Scotch comes out a bit more as this warms, but it's not the heavily peated kind, but rather adds a light smokiness to the roasty and sweet blend of malts. No real hop presence at this point, and well-hidden alcohol.

T - Flavor isn't quite as good, as the char, roast, and smoke flavors have tilted the scales a bit. There's some balancing molasses and caramel, but not as much as I'd like to balance the mild peat and wood flavors. Again, alcohol is well-hidden.

M - Roasty, dry, medium body that seems light for 11.5%. Again, think this was thinned out by the barrel-aging process. Lower carbonation, moderate lingering stickiness in the finish, and minimal alcohol presence.

D - This was a lot better than I expected, and on the whole a pretty enjoyable beer. I'd actually like to have this again, although it's a tad too pricey to entice me to order or trade for it. Kudos to Stone for not obliterating the beer with Scotch flavors.

 

 

Had the emperial IPA aged in red wine barrels and loved it so bought a few of the new Quingenti Millilitre series.

A: nice brown froth on top, and a bunch of microbubbles rising. Very fudge like color, below the froth. Very thick looking. No light can break into this fortress of fudge.

S: chocolate, cacao, some vanilla and caramel. Definite scotch presence and some of the peat and wood on the end. Hope you like the smell of scotch.

T: chocolate mixed with scotch which i never though would be a good combination but it works. Some bitterness and woodiness in the middle, and a little peat and berry towards the finish. In the end, its a more mild wood and a very distant scotch and smokiness and some caramel. Some cherry as it warms more.

M: very edge of medium leaning towards full bodied. Some crisp bubbles hit the roof of the mouth, then a very smooth finish followed by a mildly dry finale. Leaves the mouth coated with different flavors at the end of every finish.

O: damn good beer overall. Very complex, there is a lot going of the black ale aged in scotch barrels going on. No hint of hops but thats no surprise after sitting in barrels aging for 9 months but there's also very little hint of the 11.5% either. Very smooth beer. I would have guessed this was more of a porter/ stout aged in scotch barrels or even a scotch ale aged in scotch barrels with cacao added. It's excellent, unlike any beer i've had. As it warms, more and more flavors come out. Definitely a sipping beer next to a fire (or in my case sipping while reviewing on the couch with the fan on cuz its 90 and humid in New England). Stone reslly pushes the limits and this definitely is a winner.

Poured from bottle into snifter.

Pours a translucent black. Thin head vanishes pretty quickly with a few light bubbles remaining around the edge.

The nose is a sweet surprise, but I did not really know what to expect. Raisins, peat, a little chocolate, faint vanilla.

The taste is wonderfully heavy on the scotch with dark fruits. I wish the hops came through a bit more. Raisins on the finish. The finish is not too long or lingering. Leaves you wanting another sip. The 11.5% is not in your face

The mouthfeel could be a bit heavier, but I have to remind myself that this is an IPA.

Overall, I wish my bottle shop had more than one bottle. I want more. I would be curious to see how this beer will age. Nice work, Stone.

 

Just an excellent beer. If you can get it. Get it. And if you love my favorite beer of all time Stone's 15th Anniversary beer, you'll want to try it.

Aroma: Cocoa, Scotch, and...soy sauce?

Taste: Light cocoa, Scotch, vanilla, heat (some alchy if you know what I mean) and a bit of soy sauce?

Overall a good beer and another solid one from Stone!